23 to see at Bluesfest

Peter Simpson’s Bluesfest picks

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

5 p.m., July 5, Bell

Take one part southern blues, one part soulful R&B, one part scuzz rock and one part punk barked in a style that hints of both James Brown and Iggy Pop, and you end up with something close to Black Joe Lewis. The Austin, Texas musician is a sonic force, and he’s sure to present one of the most raucous sets of Bluesfest 2014.

Kalle Mattson

2 p.m., July 5, Claridge

Ottawa’s Kalle Mattson is on the long list for this year’s Polaris Music Prize, and deservedly so. His latest album, Someday The Moon Will Be Gold, is a real crowd pleaser, built on intelligent lyrics and finely crafted composition.

The Split

3:30 p.m., July 5, Claridge

Matthew Chaffey leads Ottawa’s the Split, which are emerging as one of the best new bands the city has produced in some years. The band’s neo-soul sound is smooth and smokey and irresistible, and it may well propel the Split onto the international scene.

Drive-by Truckers

6 p.m., July 6, Claridge

No other “southern rock” band is quite like Athens, Georgia’s Drive-by Truckers. With multi-instrumentalists and multiple songwriters, the Truckers have built an impressive catelogue of great songs, from Bulldozers and Dirt to Let There Be Rock to I’m Sorry, Huston. Several lineup changes over the years have only seemed to inspire the band in new creative directions.

Violent Femmes

8 p.m., July 6, Claridge

The Violent Femmes, which allmusic.com describes as “the textbook American cult band of the 1980s,” are best-known for their hit Blister in the Sun. The 1993 compilation Add it Up showed how many great tracks have been made by the Wisconsin band, including Gone Daddy Gone, Country Death Song, Waiting for the Bus, I Held Her in My Arms, etc. Songwriter Gordon Gano was a Baptist child who grew into something slightly weird, slightly gothic.

Queens of the Stone Age

8:15 p.m. July 8, Claridge

The queens are the kings of desert/stoner rock, and continue to expand their heaviosity into the margins of dance or electronic music, while never losing sight of their roots. Heavy, loud, weird, and tremendously entertaining.

Cypress Hill

8 p.m., July 9, Claridge

Cypress Hill’s 1991 debut album launched with the classic tracks Pigs, How I Could Just Kill a Man and Hand on the Pump, and had a tremendous influence on hip hop to come. They’re long-time advocates for legalizing pot, so perhaps they’ve influenced Justin Trudeau as well.

Phantogram

9:30 p.m. July 9, Black Sheep

The duo reportedly record in an barn in upstate New York, which helps to explain the spacious, laid-back sounds. It’s trippy electronica, increasingly heard on TV in soundtracks and, most recently, on a commercial for Gillette. In other words, it’s distinct, but also catchy and accessible.

BADBADNOTGOOD

6 p.m. July 11, Black Sheep

The Toronto/Ottawa jazz trio are young devotees to fusion, especially when it comes to fusing their contemporary jazz sound with cutting-edge hip hop.

Snoop Dogg/Lion

9:15 p.m., July 12, Bell

Call him Snoop Dogg or by his recent affectation Snoop Lion, just don’t be fooled by his ultimate hip hop stoner nonchalance. Snoop’s band and show are tight, sharp and wholly professional. Whether the giant blunts he savours onstage are real, well, you be the judge.

Lynn Saxberg’s Bluesfest picks

Don’t miss Lady Gaga at Bluesfest.

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Beth Hart

8:15 p.m. July 3

River Stage

7:30 p.m. July 4

Barney Danson Theatre

Los Angeles-based Beth Hart is a powerhouse singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who nearly bottomed out on alcohol and pills in the late 90s. Fortunately, she was able to achieve sobriety and revive her music career, thanks in part to high-profile appearances with musicians like Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa. Her voice will knock you out with its Janis Joplin-like power.

Gary Clark Jr.

9:30 p.m. July 3

River

Born and raised in Austin, singer-guitarist Gary Clark Jr. perfected his chops in the smoky confines of the legendary live-music club, Antone’s. Playing with musical heroes such as Jimmie Vaughan helped Clark develop his own style, a fuzzified form of electric blues-rock informed by everything from psychedelia to hip hop. His fiery approach and willingness to play anywhere prompted Rolling Stone to declare him the king of summer festivals.

Sly & Robbie

8:45 p.m. July 4

River

Reggae’s most durable rhythm section consists of drummer Lowell ‘Sly’ Dunbar and bassist Robert Shakespeare, who have been playing and producing together since the 1970s. They have reinvented the genre a few times since, and everyone from Paul McCartney to Britney Spears have called upon their expertise as producers. Away from the studio, you can count on a thunderous show from the reggae legends.

JJ Grey & Mofro

8 p.m. July 5

Claridge

Florida native JJ Grey will woo you with his world-weary voice and the clarity of his lyrics. With his band, Mofro, which includes keyboards and horns, you’ll be even more impressed at the impact of their live show, a musically hard-hitting concoction that blends swampy blues, funk, soul, Southern rock and good, old-fashioned storytelling. Their seventh and latest album, This River, captures the band’s infectious spirit in all its glory.

Vintage Trouble

9:30 p.m. July 5

Black Sheep

6 p.m. July 6

River

Managed by the same folks who steered Bon Jovi, Motley Crue and KISS to fame, Vintage Trouble is a retro-sounding rock ‘n’ soul band, clearly influenced by James Brown, from California. What makes them special is their boundless energy and unerring musical instincts; every gig is a joyful explosion of passion. Listen for the hip-shaking fan favourite, Pelvis Pusher.

Lady Gaga

9:15 p.m. July 5

Bell

She’s criticized for being gimmicky, cartoonish and over-the-top, but that’s exactly why you don’t want to miss Lady Gaga’s Saturday-night mainstage performance. It’s part of her latest world tour, dubbed artRAVE: the ARTPOP Ball, an extravaganza that comes emblazoned with sequins, G-strings, multi-coloured wigs and a nonstop barrage of confetti. Bluesfest marks one of the few outdoor performances for the mega-selling pop .

Brody Dalle

7:30 p.m. July 8

Barney Danson Theatre

Former Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle struck out on her own this year with her first solo album, Diploid Love, and it’s a doozy. Full of killer riffs and urgent vocals, the fierce set was partly inspired by the love she feels for her children (with husband Josh Homme, whose band, Queens of the Stone Age, also plays Bluesfest on July 8). It represents a side of motherhood too rarely heard.

Bombino

8:15 p.m. July 9

Black Sheep

After wowing the crowd at the Ottawa Folk Festival last year, the band fronted by Tuareg guitarist Omara ‘Bombino’ Moctar returns to the nation’s capital, still touring behind his recent album, Nomad. Produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Nomad ended the year on several best-of lists as a growing number of critics became enamoured of Bombino’s hypnotically mesmerizing African folk-rock psychedelia.

Gogol Bordello

6 p.m. July 10

Claridge

Festival favourites on any continent, Gogol Bordello whips up a style they call gypsy punk, heavily laced with accordion and fiddle. Colourful costumes, frenzied dancing and the manic energy of their mustachioed Ukrainian bandleader, Eugene Hutz, add up to a party band like no other. There’s never a dull moment when Gogol Bordello is on stage.

Long Shen Dao

6 p.m. July 12

River

You don’t have to be Jamaican to play reggae. The members of Long Shen Dao discovered the music of the islands while growing up in Beijing. They sing in Chinese, make use of traditional instruments and spout Taoism instead of Rastafarianism, but they are no mere novelty act. The level of musicianship and potent energy makes them a hot live band.

Alan Kors’ Bluesfest picks

Gary Clark Jr.

9:30 pm July 3

River

It’s not hard to see why Bluesfest proclaims Gary Clark Jr. “a must-act to see.” The hot young blues guitarist raised in the fertile musical earth of Austin, Texas, has exploded onto the festival scene since being invited to play with Eric Clapton at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2010. His debut, Blak and Blu, was named one of the best albums of 2012 by Rolling Stone. Buddy Guy says Clark reminds him of T-Bone Walker, while Mick Jagger has compared him to a young Bruce Springsteen. Decide for yourself.

Gogol Bordello

6 p.m. July 10

Claridge

Manhattan-based Gogol Bordello seeks to create “chaotic and spontaneous” theatre through its amalgam of Gypsy, cabaret and punk traditions. A “trans-global art syndicate family,” Gogol Bordello wants to provoke audiences into creating a “neo-optimistic communal movement,” whatever that is. No matter, the band bustles with an incandescent energy and its inaugural Bluesfest appearance in 2007 is legendary. But why were they programmed at the same time as Ottawa polka-punks Ukrainia?

London Souls

8 p.m. July 5

Black Sheep

London Souls (from New York) takes the soul-funk of Sly and the Family Stone, channels it into Cream’s power-trio template, and adds a dollop of White Stripes-style blues revivalism. The result is an energetic, tight bar band that can rock or smoulder.

Bombino

8:15 pm July 9

Black Sheep

Those who remember fiery world acts such as Orchestra Baobab or Amadou and Mariam, take heart: Omara “Bombino” Moctar is the real deal. This Tuareg guitarist was noticed by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who lured him from Niger to Nashville to produce his 2013 disc, Nomad. The release landed on best-of lists from NPR to Rolling Stone, who likened its sound to the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead, “if it’d been made in the Sahara Desert.”

Thornetta Davis

8 p.m. July 12

Black Sheep

Whether it’s opening for the soulful likes of Ray Charles, Etta James and Koko Taylor, or backing up Bob Seger and Kid Rock, Detroit’s Thornetta Davis brings a big voice to her work. Add a Sopranos soundtrack recording and an album on Seattle grunge label Sub Pop to her eclectic resume. Send any complainers who think Bluesfest no longer serves the blues her way.

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